Sunday, April 29, 2012

Updatin' The Updates

Things have been a little hectic around the ranch so posting has been less than usual, but here are few updates:

HEMLOCK GROVE: We continue to write and cast and roar toward production in lovely Pittsburgh this Summer. As I believe I've mentioned before, anyone looking for a sneak preview is inviting to pick up Brian McGreevy's spooky novel from Amazon or any fine book retailer.

FALLING SKIES: Season two returns June 17 with a two hour spectacular, hour one written by yours truly. So what the heck happened to Tom after he went into the alien space ship? Did the aliens offer him a deli plate and coffee and apologize for the big misunderstanding? That would have been a different way to go, but sorry, no. And what about the 2nd Mass? Well? What about them? Tune in June 17 and find out!

SPRINGSTEEN: We caught Bruuuuuce on 4/27/12 at the Los Angeles Sports Arena, and an excellent time was had by all. Well, by me, at least. This new tour is heavy with songs from the "Wrecking Ball" album, which is mostly swell, and the usual compliment of great covers, oldies and stadium staples. The possible pall cast by the deaths of band members Clarence Clemons and Danny Federici is dealt with in a lovely and spiritual way during the songs "My City in Ruins" and "Tenth Avenue Freeze-out", as well as by the presence of Clemons' nephew Jake, picking up the sax where Uncle C. left off.

But the show itself is the thing, and it remains a joyful and joyous celebration by a guy who clearly loves what he's doing and does it incredibly well. At 62 Springsteen is still crowd-surfing and belting out 3 hour shows without a break. And early arrivers were treated to Springsteen giving his family a tour of the stage, followed by an impassioned solo performance of "For You." You really need to see this guy to believe it...

STEVEN SEAGAL: I finally managed to catch a couple episodes of "True Justice", the new cop series that Seagal's writing, producing and starring in for the Reelz channel. Wow. If his direct-to-video movies were looking a little threadbare, this is scraping the barrel time.

Seagal's packed on a few lbs. and is rarely shot below the neck and does many scenes behind desks or from inside cars. If you think this could slightly inhibit the action scenes, you're right! He does a few quick-cut type moves now and again, but they're not very impressive. And the stories are... umm... well, why kick a dog when its down. I thought Seagal was funny in Machete!

SQUEEZE: The English band is back on tour and they've just released another live collection, "Live At The Fillmore" via i-tunes. It's from a 2010 show but appears to the representative of the current tour. Either way, it's another fine set and I only wish it were available on actual CD...

4 Comments:

I'm glad you had a great time seeing Springsteen, unlike your previous time, I think, when some idiot was dancing and playing air guitar. Personally, I think I'm done with concerts (except for bands like Mogwai and The Cure which have enough ambivalent crowd members and play loudly enough for me to still have a good time), but I'm glad a fellow real fan like yourself, who is there for the music, can still be left in peace and have a great time!

As for Segal, that guy is just the definition of boring idiocy, isn't he? I think the one film I've seen of his was borrowed from out of desperation from our local library by my brother; I think it was called "Under Seige" and the only good thing was some trashy, though attractive, woman popping out of some cake. Just no suspense at all; he starts winning the fight against the bad guy from the start. Awful!

Hi Mark. Man, your life has turned out awesome. Who would have thought things would have turned out like this way back in the late '70's when a young punk named William Roeben, member of Apa-5, dropped in to visit you and your friends for a weekend. Crazy times back then. I am certainly glad things turned out so good for you. Kind of amazing reading about your work today and comparing it to my memories of your contributions to the Apa-5.

Hey Bill, of course I remember the old Apa-Five days. Still have all the mailings somewhere in storage, in fact I've been buying old copies on eBay when they pop up because my set is so buried. (I guess that's the definition of having too much stuff.) Anyhow, hope things are well in your neck of the woods!

About Me

Mark is currently executive producer of ASH VS EVIL DEAD for the Starz network. Previous TV work includes DAREDEVIL, CONSTANTINE, HEMLOCK GROVE, FALLING SKIES, BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, HEROES, SMALLVILLE, THE STRIP, TIMECOP (the series), CAPRICA, FREAKYLINKS, MARTIAL LAW and PERVERSIONS OF SCIENCE.
Screenwriter on #1 boxoffice movies TIMECOP and THE MASK, and the not #1 but still fun feature MY NAME IS BRUCE starring Bruce Campbell. I've also scribbled out nearly 125 comic books including THE AMERICAN, ALIENS, PREDATOR, THE PHANTOM, SUPERMAN and SUPERMAN/BATMAN.